An inquiry into the psychological repercussions considering COVID-19 pandemic

Sooraj Kumar Maurya, Amarbahadur Yadav

Article ID: 10591
Vol 9, Issue 3, 2025

VIEWS - 491 (Abstract)

Abstract


The COVID-19 pandemic has instigated global lockdowns, profoundly altering daily life and resulting in widespread closures, except for essential services like healthcare and grocery stores. This scenario has notably intensified mental health challenges, particularly among children and adolescents. Influenced by a myriad of factors including developmental stages, educational backgrounds, existing psychiatric disorders, and socioeconomic status, the pandemic’s impact extends beyond the immediate health crisis. This paper critically examines the multifaceted effects of the pandemic on mental and physical health across various age groups. It highlights the increased incidence of stress, anxiety, and depression, underscoring the pandemic’s deep psychological footprint. Additionally, the paper explores the societal implications, from altered family dynamics and educational disruptions due to the shift to online learning, to workplace transformations. These changes have led to a mix of adaptive responses and adverse effects, including heightened domestic tensions and mental health issues. The paper also delves into the ethical challenges faced by medical professionals during this crisis, balancing urgent patient care with ongoing medical research and mental health considerations. This analysis aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic’s extensive impact on health and society, emphasizing the importance of addressing mental health as a crucial component of the response strategy.


Keywords


pandemic; philosophical counseling; psychological issues; mental health; human behaviour; social distancing

Full Text:

PDF


References

  1. Ahmed, M. Z., Ahmed, O., Aibao, Z., et al. (2020). Epidemic of COVID-19 in China and associated Psychological Problems. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 102092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102092

  2. Ai, X., Yang, J., Lin, Z., et al. (2021). Mental Health and the Role of Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.759987

  3. Ali, M., Ahsan, G. U., Khan, R., et al. (2020). Immediate impact of stay-at-home orders to control COVID-19 transmission on mental well-being in Bangladeshi adults: Patterns, Explanations, and future directions. BMC Research Notes, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-020-05345-2

  4. Asmundson, G. J. G., & Taylor, S. (2020a). Coronaphobia: Fear and the 2019-nCoV outbreak. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 70, 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102196

  5. Asmundson, G. J. G., & Taylor, S. (2020b). How health anxiety influences responses to viral outbreaks like COVID-19: What all decision-makers, health authorities, and health care professionals need to know. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 71, 102211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102211

  6. Asmundson, G. J. G., Abramowitz, J. S., Richter, A. A., et al. (2010). Health Anxiety: Current Perspectives and Future Directions. Current Psychiatry Reports, 12(4), 306–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-010-0123-9

  7. Auerbach, J., & Miller, B. F. (2020). COVID-19 Exposes the Cracks in Our Already Fragile Mental Health System. American Journal of Public Health, 110(7), 969–970. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2020.305699

  8. Barrios, J., & Hochberg, Y. (2020). Risk Perception Through the Lens of Politics in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w27008

  9. Barry, J. M. (2010). The Next Pandemic. World Policy Journal, 27(2), 10–12. https://doi.org/10.1162/wopj.2010.27.2.10

  10. Bauer, A., Garman, E., McDaid, D., et al. (2021). Integrating Youth Mental Health into Cash Transfer Programmes in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries. The Lancet Psychiatry, 8, 340–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30382-5

  11. Bierman, A., Upenieks, L., Glavin, P., et al. (2021). Accumulation of economic hardship and health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Social causation or selection? Social Science & Medicine, 275, 113774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113774

  12. Brooks, V. (2020). COVID-19’s effects on emergency psychiatry. Current Psychiatry, 19(7). https://doi.org/10.12788/cp.0013

  13. Chen, B., Wang, M., Duan, M., et al. (2019). In search of key: Protecting human health and the ecosystem from water pollution in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 228, 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.228

  14. Chen, J., Brager, G. S., Augenbroe, G., et al. (2019). Impact of outdoor air quality on the natural ventilation usage of commercial buildings in the US. Applied Energy, 235, 673–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.11.020

  15. de Figueiredo, C. S., Sandre, P. C., Portugal, L. C. L., et al. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic impact on children and adolescents’ mental health: Biological, environmental, and social factors. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 106, 110171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110171

  16. Di Fazio, N., Morena, D., Delogu, G., et al. (2022). Mental Health Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic Period in the European Population: An Institutional Challenge. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9347. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159347

  17. Duan, L., & Zhu, G. (2020). Psychological Interventions for People Affected by the COVID-19 Epidemic. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(4), 300–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30073-0

  18. Grolli, R. E., Mingoti, M. E. D., Bertollo, A. G., et al. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 in the Mental Health in Elderly: Psychological and Biological Updates. Molecular Neurobiology, 58(5), 1905–1916. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-020-02249-x

  19. Grover, S., Sahoo, S., Mehra, A., et al. (2020). Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown: An Online Survey from India. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(4), 354–362. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_427_20

  20. Heidenreich, T., Noyon, A., Worrell, M., et al. (2021). Existential Approaches and Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Challenges and Potential. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 14(1), 209–234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-020-00096-1

  21. Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041–1056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006

  22. Knapp, S., & Tjeltveit, A. C. (2005). A Review and Critical Analysis of Philosophical Counseling. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(5), 558–565. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.36.5.558

  23. Menzies, R. E., Sharpe, L., & Dar‐Nimrod, I. (2019). The relationship between death anxiety and severity of mental illnesses. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58(4), 452–467. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjc.12229

  24. Menzies, R. E., Zuccala, M., Sharpe, L., et al. (2018). The effects of psychosocial interventions on death anxiety: A meta-analysis and systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 59, 64–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2018.09.004

  25. Menzies, R., & Menzies, R. G. Mortals: How Death Anxiety Shaped Human History. Allen & Unwin. (In preparation).

  26. Michopoulou, E. (2022). Living Happily in the Era of COVID-19: Philosophical and Positive Psychology Intervention in Secondary Education. Conatus, 7(2), 193–227. https://doi.org/10.12681/cjp.31765

  27. Orben, A., Tomova, L., & Blakemore, S. J. (2020). The Effects of Social Deprivation on Adolescent Development and Mental Health. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(8), 634–640. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30186-3

  28. Pfefferbaum, B., & North, C. S. (2020). Mental Health and the Covid-19 Pandemic. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(6), 510–512. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp2008017

  29. Pharr, J. R., Moonie, S., & Bungum, T. J. (2012). The Impact of Unemployment on Mental and Physical Health, Access to Health Care and Health Risk Behaviors. ISRN Public Health, 2012, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/483432

  30. Philosophical Therapy. (2020). Philosophy in the Time of COVID-19. Available online: https://www.philosophicaltherapy.com/covid19/2020/4/8/philosophy-in-the-time-of-covid-19 (accessed on 5 November 2024).

  31. Pierce, M., Hope, H., Ford, T., et al. (2020). Mental Health Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Probability Sample Survey of the UK Population. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7, 883–892. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30308-4

  32. Salameh, P., Hajj, A., Badro, D. A., et al. (2020). Mental Health Outcomes of the COVID-19 Pandemic and a Collapsing Economy: Perspectives from a Developing Country. Psychiatry Research, 294, 113520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113520

  33. Salari, N., Hosseinian-Far, A., Jalali, R., et al. (2020). Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Globalization and Health, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-00589-w

  34. Singh, S., Roy, D., Sinha, K., et al. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry Research, 293, 113429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113429

  35. Tee, M., Wang, C., Tee, C., et al. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical and Mental Health in Lower and Upper Middle-Income Asian Countries: A Comparison Between the Philippines and China. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.568929

  36. Timming, A. R., French, M. T., & Mortensen, K. (2021). Health anxiety versus economic anxiety surrounding COVID-19: An analysis of psychological distress in the early stages of the pandemic. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 5, 100152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100152

  37. World Health Organization [WHO]. (2023a). COVID-19 and Mental Health: Pandemic’s Psychological Impact. Available online: https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/mental-health-and-covid-19 (accessed on 5 November 2024).

  38. World Health Organization [WHO]. (2023b). Infection prevention and control in the context of COVID-19: a guideline, 21 December 2023. Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-IPC-guideline-2023.4 (accessed on 5 November 2024).

  39. World Health Organization [WHO]. (2023c). Advice for the Public. Available online: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public (accessed on 5 November 2024).



DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd10591

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Author(s)

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.